Time Marches On

First Family,

You have heard these sayings before:
"Time flies when you're having fun."
"Life is short."
"Time keeps ticking away."
"They grow up so fast."

When I was younger, time seemed to pass slowly, and I always looked forward to what was next. But these days, I find myself not asking, “What is next?” but, “Where has the time gone?” In so many ways, I struggle to wrap my heart and mind around the passing of time. Yet, there is something very comforting about the steady marching on of time—almost relentless. You know, we always, all of us, have moments where we get weary of the constant change in our lives. I talk to other parents about this often; just about the time you catch up to a stage your child is in, they move on to another stage; you always feel like you’re catching up.

Read with me some verses from Psalm 90.

A prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

In this Psalm, God is presented as one who always was, who is now, and forever will be. And we mere humans bump around for seventy or eighty years in this life of toil and trouble.

12 Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor[a] of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.

Two things that you need to do if you accept the shortness of your life as compared to God.

• Invest your days well. You have a limited number of days.
• Be thankful for your life, even in times of trouble, because there is a God, this eternal one, who is with you in this moment, and if you’re his child, will be with you forever!

Today is a new day. The beautiful message of Christianity is that no accomplishment we make can be bigger than God, and no failure we make is unforgiven by God through Christ. Because of this truth, we should all take a deep breath and not be so stressed out. Nothing surprises God.

God’s got this!

I invite you to pray this prayer from verse 17: “Lord our God, may your favor rest on me today, establish the work of your hands for me. I find peace in you!” Amen

Pastor Robert